Storm crossed the void beneath his feet with Geppo, reaching the Marine warships at top speed.
On the deck of the warship, the shell of the enormous "clay bear figurine" kept trembling violently.
Clearly, Bear, wrapped inside the clay, refused to accept defeat and was fighting back with all his might.
Compared with everyone else aboard the warship, Bear's strength was terrifyingly powerful.
Not to mention that his Nikyu Nikyu no Mi possessed the miraculous ability to repel everything!
The moment Storm arrived at the warship.
Crack, crack—
Dense cracks suddenly spread across the palm of the "clay bear figurine."
The next moment, the palm of the "clay bear figurine" exploded, sending pieces of clay flying in all directions like hidden weapons.
With the outer clay shell gone, Bear's bizarre-looking "paw pads" were revealed.
Storm reached into his coat and pulled out the Seastone Tonfa, giving it a light flick.
The Seastone Tonfa, painstakingly crafted by the Navy Equipment Department, was hurled out like a javelin.
The Seastone Tonfa flew like an arrow loosed from a bow and landed with pinpoint accuracy on its "target"—
Bear's palm!
The instant it touched the head of the Seastone Tonfa.
Bear, who had been struggling nonstop just moments before, became docile once again.
Storm manipulated the clay and exposed Bear's head.
Seastone...
Bear glanced at the Seastone Tonfa from the corner of his eye. With his wealth of experience, he immediately recognized its true nature.
As a Nikyu Nikyu no Mi user, he could not avoid a Devil Fruit User's fatal weakness—
The slightest contact with Seastone would directly "seal" his abilities!
Bear had already realized that he could not escape from this strange "angel" before him...
"Bartholomew Bear."
Storm leisurely walked before the "clay bear figurine" and asked calmly,
"Do you believe in 'gravity'?"
"Gravity?"
Bear frowned at the man who had suddenly started spouting strange things.
"I believe in religion."
"...Huh?"
Storm nearly threw out his back from the completely unexpected answer.
He had just been about to say—
"There is 'gravity' between people!"
"Our meeting was guided by fate!"
Those were the lines he had prepared specifically to recruit Bear.
But before he could say any of them, they had died in the womb.
Storm remained silent for a long while.
He really was not good at convincing people with reason.
In that case, he could only convince people with force!
Storm raised his right hand, dark and profound Armament Haki wrapping around the surface of his fist.
Armament: Tekkai!
Not long afterward.
A brand-new Big Trophy appeared before Storm.
[Diamond Trophy: Bartholomew Bear] [Trophy Star Rating: ★★★★★★]
Bear's trophy is only six-star? He's one level weaker than I expected...
Storm frowned as he looked at the Big Trophy floating in the air.
I thought Bear would have seven-star strength. I didn't expect him to be on the same level as the Okama King, Ivankov.
Storm looked at Bear, who had already been beaten unconscious, and could not help shaking his head.
He raised his head toward the sky. Blue-Eyes White Dragon sensed his call and immediately flew toward the three Marine warships below.
Once Blue-Eyes White Dragon had drawn close enough to the three warships, it suddenly stopped in midair.
The two people on Blue-Eyes White Dragon's back were immediately flung off. They landed on the decks of the Marine warships with loud cries.
Thud! Thud!
With two heavy impacts.
Kid and Killer tumbled across the decks of the Marine warships.
Fortunately, the clay was soft enough that neither of them suffered any injuries.
Without needing to be reminded, Kid and Killer immediately climbed to their feet.
They had just witnessed Storm's battle against Tyrant Bear and the three Marine warships with their own eyes.
Their awe of this new "boss" had risen to its peak.
"Boss!"
"Boss!"
...Boss?
Storm merely glanced at Kid and Killer. He said nothing, instead controlling the clay aboard the warships once more.
One chain after another, made of white clay, shot out from the Marine warships and wrapped around Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
Blue-Eyes White Dragon pulled the three Marine warships onward, steadily approaching the nearby Sorbet Kingdom.
On the coast of the island where the Sorbet Kingdom was located.
A group of old men had gathered there.
At their head was a short, weathered old man.
He was the former former king of the Sorbet Kingdom and its current ruler—Bulldog.
After the "One-Man Revolution" broke out.
The terrifying man slandered as a "Tyrant" by King Bekley and the newspapers had been chosen by the people as their new king.
However, Bartholomew Bear did not concern himself with politics.
The one truly governing the Sorbet Kingdom was still its former former king, Bulldog.
Bulldog knew very well what kind of person his successor, King Bekley, really was.
To reduce the Heavenly Tribute paid to the Celestial Dragons.
King Bekley had gone so far as to split the entire country in two, even voluntarily abandoning half the kingdom's territory and people!
More than a decade ago, the Self-Defense Army—the Revolutionary Army at the time—overthrew King Bekley's rule and drove him out of the country.
But this year, King Bekley had returned and reclaimed control of the country. His methods were even more brutal than before!
This time, King Bekley had even wanted to send troops to kill the innocent people living in the abandoned half of the country.
Bear had created the "One-Man Revolution" to protect those innocent people, driving King Bekley away once again.
Yet today.
King Bekley had returned to the Sorbet Kingdom with three Marine warships.
If Bear was defeated.
Control of the Sorbet Kingdom would fall back into King Bekley's hands.
When that happened, Bulldog had no idea how many more acts of public outrage King Bekley would commit.
"King Bear..."
Bulldog gazed out over the sea and murmured,
"You have to win..."
Just then.
Bulldog suddenly saw the silhouettes of three ships appear on the sea.
But the appearance of these three warships was unlike the iron-gray warships remembered by the former former king.
Even stranger, a gigantic creature was pulling the three white ships from the front...
"What is that?"
Bulldog could not help rubbing his eyes.
"It has wings. Could it be... a dragon?"
Blue-Eyes White Dragon dragged the three Marine warships all the way to the shore before stopping.
Storm manipulated the clay and transferred every living person aboard the warships onto land.
Among them was Bartholomew Bear.
There was also King Bekley and the Marines.
Storm was the last to leave the Marine warships.
As soon as he disembarked, he saw a group of old men standing on the shore.
"Boss!"
Kid and Killer stood beside a gray-haired old man, guarding him from either side.
"This old man is the current king of the Sorbet Kingdom!"
"I am not the king."
Wedged between the two young men, Bulldog calmly explained,
"I am the kingdom's ruler, Bulldog."
"What's the difference between ruling and not ruling?"
Kid frowned impatiently.
"You govern this country. If you aren't the king, then who is?"
"Bartholomew Bear is the king of the Sorbet Kingdom."
Bulldog spoke in a deep voice.
"At least, he is still this country's king for now."
"All right, Kid, Killer. Go take inventory of the supplies aboard the warships."
Storm waved at the red-haired hedgehog head and the blond-haired wavy-haired youth, then walked over to Bulldog.
"Ruler, where is King Bear's 'palace'?"
Bulldog stared at Storm's brilliant smile. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at the "clay bear figurine" beside him.
Maybe it was just his imagination.
But Bulldog felt that this bear looked very familiar...
"Who are you?"
"Vongola Storm, a pirate captain who wants to invite Bear out to sea but has not succeeded yet."
"Pirate captain? A pirate?"
Bulldog raised his gray-white eyebrows and looked at Storm strangely.
"You don't look like a pirate..."
"Old man, haven't you heard the saying, 'You can know a person's face but not their heart'?"
Storm looked toward the "clay bear figurine" beside him and instantly peeled away its outer clay shell.
"Look at this 'Tyrant.' He looks mighty and imposing, but in reality, he's merely an indecisive man."
"King Bear!"
Seeing the unconscious Bartholomew Bear, Bulldog was instantly shocked.
"Pirate! What did you do to him?"
"Old man, don't you think you changed your tune a little too quickly..."
Storm's mouth twitched.
"Don't worry. I merely tested the Tyrant's strength. I didn't hit him too hard. He should wake up soon."
Bulldog refused to believe Storm's one-sided account.
Leaning on his cane, he hurried to Bear's side and listened for a while with his ear against Bear's heart.
Only after hearing that Bear's heartbeat remained steady and powerful did Bulldog finally relax.
He turned to look at Storm, his expression even stranger.
"You're really a pirate?"
"Although I currently have no fame, no flag, no ship, and no subordinates..."
Storm spoke with absolute conviction.
"I really am a pirate!"
"...I understand this world less and less."
Bulldog remained silent for a moment before exhaling a breath of stale air.
"So, young pirate, what have you come to the Sorbet Kingdom for?"
"To recruit subordinates."
Storm answered openly.
"And to loot while I'm at it."
Bulldog's pupils contracted slightly. He pretended to remain calm as he said,
"The Sorbet Kingdom is very poor..."
"What does that have to do with me?"
Storm pointed toward the three warships on the sea.
"Do you see those three ships?"
"I do."
"Old man, do you know how much a large warship costs?"
Many thanks to "What Should I Do? I Don't Have a Name" for the Qidian Coins!
The update came a little earlier than yesterday's.
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